RETRACTED: Beyond Autonomy? Moral Socialization Goals of German and Indonesian Preschool Teachers

At the request of the Journal Editor/authors, with the agreement of publisher the following article has been retracted.

Schwarz, M., Pujiastuti, S.I., & Holodynski, M. (2020). Beyond Autonomy? Moral Socialization Goals of German and Indonesian Preschool Teachers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 51(6): 456-474.

Over recent months, the editors and authors of this paper have been contacted by concerned parents, teachers, and education department administrators who have raised ethical questions regarding this study. After investigation, the Editors have identified two serious concerns pertaining to the study’s research ethics, and these have been discussed with the authors.

The first ethical issue was brought to the attention of the Editors and authors by letters from Indonesian preschool teachers, parents, and researchers not involved with the project. The authors also received letters from the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta) Education Office and the State Finance Agency of Indonesia. These communications indicated that Indonesian regulations require that research manuscripts be approved by participants prior to publication. One of the authors had signed an agreement stating the authors had secured the required approval, but it was determined that the signature occurred after the manuscript was already published. The teachers referenced in the article did not have an opportunity to review and formally approve the final manuscript before it was published, contrary to the signed statement. The teacher participants informed the journal that they have suffered economic and career sanctions because the Indonesian DIY Education Office contends the research article damaged the reputation of Indonesian preschools and preschool teachers.

The second ethical infraction occurred upon submission of the manuscript. On the JCCP submission form, the submitting author checked the box to “Confirm that all the research meets the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the study country.” As noted above, this was unfortunately not the case, but due to author miscommunication, the submitting author did not know this.

The American Psychological Association ethical guidelines require that participants be informed about “reasonably foreseeable factors that may be expected to influence their willingness to participate, such as potential risks, discomfort, or adverse effects.” It is not clear that the adverse consequences (loss of income and career advancement) of the Indonesian preschool teachers were foreseeable by the researchers. However, the Editors and authors hope that making these ethical concerns public will serve as a cautionary note for researchers to take every precaution to ensure that the research does not harm the participants involved in their projects and that their research practices conform to all applicable legal and ethical requirements of the study country.